Kashmiri Leaders Mark India’s Republic Day as “Black Day” to Protest Illegal Occupation

On January 26, as India celebrates its Republic Day, Kashmir’s political leaders are urging people to observe the day as a “Black Day” in protest against India’s ongoing military occupation of the region.

In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), prominent political figures from the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) have called on the Kashmiri people to mark India’s Republic Day, January 26, as a day of protest. This year, the call is particularly loud, as the leaders decry India’s illegal occupation and suppression of Kashmiri rights.

Leading figures such as Ghulam Muhammad Khan Sopori, Muhammad Saleem Zargar, Syed Bashir Andrabi, and others, alongside organizations like the Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Freedom Party, Tehreek-e-Hurriyat Jammu and Kashmir, and Muslim League, have joined in the protest. They are demanding an end to India’s military presence in the region and a recognition of IIOJK’s right to self-determination.

These leaders accuse India of using force to control IIOJK for the past 77 years, claiming that India’s so-called democracy is nothing more than a facade. As they argue, while India presents itself as the world’s largest democracy, its actions in IIOJK show the reality of an occupying power. The APHC members also pointed out that IIOJK’s status as a disputed territory, acknowledged by the United Nations, further highlights India’s illegitimate presence in the region.

The leaders argue that India has no moral or legal grounds to celebrate its Republic Day in IIOJK. The political future of Kashmir, they contend, is still unresolved and remains under international dispute. The day of India’s Republic Day, for Kashmiris, is not a day of celebration but a reminder of the ongoing repression they face under Indian military control.

According to the APHC leaders, the situation in IIOJK worsens every year on January 26. The Indian government imposes heavy security measures, turning cities like Srinagar into militarized zones. Armed forces are deployed in large numbers, and curfews are enforced, making life for ordinary Kashmiris difficult. As these leaders highlight, the region is practically a military garrison, where the rights and safety of the people are continuously under threat.

The Hurriyat leaders have urged international attention to the Kashmir issue, particularly calling on United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres to intervene. They stress the importance of the UN’s role in resolving the Kashmir dispute in a way that honors the wishes of the Kashmiri people, in line with UN resolutions.

Similarly, leaders from the APHC-AJK chapter, including Mahmood Ahmad Saghar and Altaf Hussain Wani, have echoed the call for observing January 26 as a “Black Day.” They also condemned the heightened security measures and the harassment faced by Kashmiris, urging the international community to push for a peaceful and just resolution to the Kashmir issue, in keeping with the will of the Kashmiri population.